Rail strikes Sheffield: 'Do not travel' warning as Northern, EMR and Transpennine Express train services hit

Northern said it would be running no services today, Saturday, October 1, or on Wednesday, October 5, and only ‘very limited’ services next Saturday, October 8 due to the national walkouts.

It added that services are also likely to be affected on Sunday, October 2 and Sunday, October 9, especially in the morning, and advised passengers to check before they travel on those days.

What Northern, EMR and Transpennine Express train services are still running in Sheffield during rail strikes?

Transpennine Express said a very limited service would be running on some lines on the strike dates but advised passengers to only travel if ‘essential’.

“We also expect travel to be disrupted the day after a planned strike so check before you travel,” added the operator.

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East Midlands Railway (EMR) said it would be running a ‘significantly reduced’ service on Saturday, October 1, with trains only running between 7.30am and 6.30pm. It advised people to only travel by rail if ‘absolutely necessary’.

On Wednesday, October 5, it said EMR would be running no services on any part of the network.

On Thursday, October 6 and Friday, October 7, it said there would be a ‘significantly reduced’ service and passengers should only travel by rail if absolutely necessary.

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And on Saturday, October 8, it said there would again be a ‘significantly reduced’ service, with trains only running from 7.30am-6.30pm.

What have union leaders said about latest train strikes affecting Sheffield passengers? Why are rail workers going on strike?

Members of four trade unions, the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT), Aslef, Unite and the Transport Salaried Staffs’ Association (TSSA), are taking part in the latest industrial action.

Saturday’s 24-hour strike comes the day before the London Marathon and union leaders have apologised for the disruption caused but said they had been left with no choice as they fight cuts to jobs, pensions and real-term wages.

Asked on BBC Breakfast whether he would apologise to the public, RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said: “Absolutely. We don’t want to inconvenience the public and we’re really sorry that that’s happening.

“But the Government has brought this dispute on. They (put) the challenges down to us, to cut our jobs, to cut our pensions and to cut our wages against inflation.”

“Whenever we put strikes on it’s going to inconvenience people. We don’t want to do that, we’d much rather have a settlement, we’d much rather get out of this dispute so our members can (provide) the service,” he added.

When are the next rail strikes planned?

Network Rail chief negotiator Tim Shoveller described the strikes as a “huge own goal” that would result in “less money to spend improving the railway”.

Speaking to Times Radio Breakfast, he said: “To target leisure travellers, as appears to be happening today and again next Saturday, is really frustrating. And it’s just a huge own goal.

“The profit is purely an accounting measure. And that all goes back into the railway, every single penny goes back into the railway.

“In fact, a tragedy of the strikes now is that because of the costs of the strike, we’ll actually have less money to spend improving the railway because of the compensation and costs that we’ll have from the strike days.”

Another strike by Aslef will be held on Wednesday, October 5 while RMT members will walk out again on Saturday, October 8, and again on October 10 in Scotland.